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Beyond the Checkout: Retail’s 2026 Legal Minefield

By Joanna Rosen Forster, Warrington Parker, Clay Marquez, Juge Gregg, Joachim B. Steinberg & Audrey Nankervis on January 7, 2026
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2026 will be a significant year for retailers and e-commerce companies, with significant changes on the horizon that will affect the entire industry and ecosystem. In this alert, we highlight the top issues retailers and e-commerce companies should be aware of and ready to tackle in 2026. Click here to continue reading the full version of this alert.

Photo of Joanna Rosen Forster Joanna Rosen Forster

Joanna Forster’s multifaceted background positions her to effectively manage conflicts across the legal spectrum and across the globe. In her prior roles as general counsel (representing both plaintiffs and defendants) and as government prosecutor/enforcer, Joanna handled nearly every type of matter, ranging from

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Joanna Forster’s multifaceted background positions her to effectively manage conflicts across the legal spectrum and across the globe. In her prior roles as general counsel (representing both plaintiffs and defendants) and as government prosecutor/enforcer, Joanna handled nearly every type of matter, ranging from complex commercial and white collar matters in areas such as employment, intellectual property, securities and antitrust law, to internal investigations and corporate and M&A transactions. She views her role as both a conflict manager, dispensing advice to avoid adversarial action, and as a tech and business litigator, resolving disputes with her client’s business goals in mind.

Having served as the general counsel and compliance officer of a publicly traded ecommerce platform operating in over 60 countries, Joanna has an appreciation of strategic dispute resolution, investigations, and compliance from a general counsel’s perspective. By understanding how business leaders combine the input of in-house and outside counsel to make decisions, Joanna is able to provide her clients with decisive and efficient legal guidance.

Her practice includes litigating domestic and cross-border complex commercial disputes and advising technology and ecommerce companies on matters related to internet platforms, product launches, market campaigns, and new vertical lines of business, all while advising on foreign and domestic laws that regulate online content, physical products, and the companies that bring them to market. Drawing on her experience as the General Counsel of an online e-commerce marketplace, Joanna also regularly advises and counsels clients on California’s Proposition 65, from prevention and compliance to remediation. Joanna is well-versed in key regulations that impact ecommerce companies, including the EU’s Digital Services Act, the U.S. INFORM Act, and the proposed SHOP SAFE Act, as well as laws and regulations that govern online speech such as the Communications Decency Act, Section 230.

Prior to going in-house, Joanna was the deputy attorney general, Corporate Fraud Section of the California Department of Justice. In this capacity, she led large, complex civil matters alleging violations of California’s False Claims Act, Securities Law, Section 17200, Cartwright Act, and other deceptive business practices. She also maintained her own investigations and litigation docket.

Before joining the California Department of Justice, Joanna spent nearly a decade in private practice, where she focused on civil and criminal antitrust and commercial litigation. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall in the U.S. District Court for the Central District Court of California.

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Photo of Warrington Parker Warrington Parker
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Photo of Clay Marquez Clay Marquez

Clay Marquez brings a unique combination of product safety and litigation experience to advise clients on compliance with statutes and regulations enforced by the CPSC, FDA, EPA, and USDA. He is an accomplished litigator recognized for his successful representation of major corporations in

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Clay Marquez brings a unique combination of product safety and litigation experience to advise clients on compliance with statutes and regulations enforced by the CPSC, FDA, EPA, and USDA. He is an accomplished litigator recognized for his successful representation of major corporations in high-stakes legal disputes across various sectors, including retail, technology, and financial services. Clay has experience handling securities and consumer class actions, internal investigations, regulatory inquiries, and enforcement actions. He has represented a wide range of clients in both state and federal courts, from Fortune 100 companies to privately held tech companies and start-ups.

With a strong background as vice president and counsel at two leading retail and consumer companies, Clay brings a unique blend of industry insight and legal insight to his practice. Clay is regularly called upon to evaluate, manage, and fix complex, high-risk situations. He strategically navigates business problems by assessing obstacles, determining best outcomes, and presenting his clients with creative solutions and alternative approaches tailored to their risk tolerance.

Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Clay served as senior corporate counsel at Amazon leading the Regulatory Intelligence Safety & Compliance Legal Team in supporting product safety and compliance efforts in North America. In this role, Clay acted as Amazon’s principal point of contact for the CPSC and was responsible for developing comprehensive worldwide product safety and compliance strategies with a focus on Amazon’s CPSC relationship and related business, policy, and legal objectives. Prior to Amazon, Clay served as vice president and senior counsel for product and vendor compliance at Restoration Hardware, where he similarly led the team responsible for company-wide product testing and vendor validation, product incident investigations and failure analyses, evaluation of reporting obligations, and coordination of public recall efforts. Prior to working in-house, Clay worked as an associate and counsel for more than 10 years at two different AmLaw 50 litigation firms.

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Photo of Joachim B. Steinberg Joachim B. Steinberg
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  • Posted in:
    Business and Commercial
  • Blog:
    Retail & Consumer Products Law Observer
  • Organization:
    Crowell & Moring LLP
  • Article: View Original Source

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